Compare car insurance in Australia

Comprehensive car insurance covers accidental damage to your own car, as well as your liability for damage to other people’s property or vehicles. It also covers other types of damage to your car such as vandalism, theft, fires and weather events.

Third Party Fire and Theft (TPFT) covers repairs if your car is stolen or damaged by fire or theft, as well as damages you cause to other vehicles and property.

Third Party Property Damage (TPPD) insurance generally only covers the damage you’ve caused to other people’s vehicles and property. Some insurers may offer limited cover for your car in an accident where an uninsured driver is at fault.

Every vehicle driven in Australia requires Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance or a state’s equivalent (e.g. a Green Slip in NSW). CTP insurance covers your legal liability if a driver or pedestrian is injured or killed by your vehicle on the road. Depending on the state or territory you live in, it may also cover your own injuries even if you’re the at-fault driver.

The ‘best’ car insurance for everyone in Australia doesn’t exist – it depends on your circumstances and budget, and will be different for each person. When looking for a policy, consider asking yourself questions like:

• Do I need cover for damage to my own vehicle?
• Does the age restriction on the policy cater for other drivers who may use my car?
• What exclusions are listed in the policy?

This table provides a summary of what’s typically covered by each type of car insurance:

Always read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for full details on policy inclusions, exclusions and cover limits. The Target Market Determination (TMD) may also help you figure out if a product is right for your situation.

CTP insurance is the only mandatory cover in Australia. However, it won’t cover vehicle or property damages of any kind. For this reason, it’s worth considering additional cover. Even a basic TPPD policy could provide cover in cases where your car causes damage to other vehicles and property.

While your postcode can influence your car insurance premium, your level of cover won’t change depending on where you live in Australia. The only type of insurance that varies between the different states and territories is CTP insurance.

The product name of CTP may differ depending on the state or territory you live in. The table below provides a basic guideline of your state or territory’s CTP product and its regulator.

Yes, some insurers may allow you to cover your car for an agreed value. By doing this, you can have a better understanding of how much you’ll receive from your insurer if your car is written off.

Depending on your insurer, you keep your no claim discount (NCD) from your previous policy when switching to a different provider. Consider asking the new insurer if they’ll honour your current NCD before switching policies.

Optional extras are benefits you can add to your standard cover. Some common optional extras can include:

• Hire car cover. Your insurer could provide a hire car for you to drive while yours is being repaired after an accident.
• Windscreen cover. Your excess on window glass claims may be reduced or waived with this optional cover.
• Roadside assistance. Roadside assistance can be a handy purchase should your car break down or some other fault occurs while on the road. It may be bought separately as a standalone product or as an extra with your car insurance policy.

Keep in mind that including optional extras in your cover will typically incur additional premiums.

Your car insurance policy may cover learner drivers. With some insurers, you might need to list them on your policy to avoid paying an unlisted driver excess on top of a young driver excess and the basic excess.

Comprehensive car insurance policies typically include cover for towing costs for several scenarios, while TPFT policies may only include it for fire and theft incidents.

Some car insurance providers do give you a choice of repairer, typically as an optional extra with comprehensive cover.  However, other insurers may offer it as a standard inclusion. Check the PDS of any policy you’re looking to purchase for more information on a its standard inclusions and optional extras.

Comprehensive car insurance is the only type of cover that can include a new car replacement if your vehicle is written off (also known as a total loss). However, this benefit is generally for new cars that are only a few years old or driven a certain number of kilometres (typically whichever happens first).

Depending on your circumstances, some things you could do to get cheaper car insurance premiums may include:

• Paying your premiums annually instead of in fortnightly or monthly instalments
• Keeping your car in a garage instead of parking on the street
• Setting an age restriction on your policy
• Reducing how much you drive your car annually.

Another way you could save on car insurance premiums is by opting to pay a higher excess on your policy. Before adjusting your excess, consider if it’s an amount you could pay if you need to make a car insurance claim.

You can compare car insurance quotes from several providers in just minutes through our comparison service. To start comparing today, some of the details you’ll need to enter include:

• Information about your car like its make and model, which can be pre-filled by entering your vehicle registration details
• Details about you such as your location, employment status and the age you obtained your licence
• The type of cover you want (i.e. comprehensive, TPFT or TPPD)
• Advanced car details including whether it has unrepaired damage, modifications or finance remaining on it.